Iodine is generally handled in the form of prills, flakes, crystals, lumps, powder or grain made by solidifying a melt of iodine by cooling.
Because of the hygroscopic nature of iodine, iodine in the above noted forms readily picks up moisture from ambient air. Moisture that enters a container for transportation of iodine promotes caking or bridging that prevents free flow of the iodine. The presence of moisture in the iodine may be an issue for use of the iodine in processes sensitive to the presence of water. Such processes may need to incorporate additional steps to dry the iodine.
Iodine is a dense material, with a tendency to tightly pack when stored. The tendencies of iodine to both cake (due to moisture) and pack, and especially the combination of these two properties, can make it difficult to unload and empty a container of iodine.
Containers for bulk packaging and transporting iodine are known. Such containers suffer from numerous deficiencies. For example, many containers do not have the capacity for amounts of iodine over 1200 pounds. Many containers are non-recyclable, generating waste for every shipment. Many containers are ineffective at excluding moisture, resulting in caking of the iodine within the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,421, discloses a container for iodine that is a transportable portable tank and frame assembly. The portable tank and frame are positionable in an upright or a reclined position. The portable tank includes a side wall, a cover body located at a top end portion of the side wall when the tank is in the upright position, a discharging port formed in a lower portion of the tank, and a rotatable paddle plate positioned in the discharge port so as to promote discharge of material confined within the tank.
While the transportable portable tank and frame described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,421, provides for bulk transporting of iodine, it too suffers from deficiencies. For example, the tank does not exclude moisture and moisture can easily enter and contact iodine therein. The collected moisture causes caking to occur, which makes it difficult to unload iodine from the tank. Unloading iodine that has caked along the side wall upon which the portable tank lies during storage and transportation is particularly difficult. Additionally, for applications that are very sensitive to water content in the iodine, collected moisture causes operating problems that may be unique to such applications.
The tank described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,421, also does not provide a means to effectively break up agglomerates of caked iodine. In particular, the rotatable paddle plate positioned near the discharge port does not break up caked iodine that has accumulated along the side walls.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a transportable container assembly, suitable for iodine, with a capability to effectively remove and/or exclude moisture and a capability to effectively break up agglomerates of caked iodine that accumulate on the side walls. The present invention meets these needs.